The demon god returned to his room in high spirits, sat quietly, and waited for Peng Zhen to report on the handling of the matter.
In another room, Liu Lanyan sat at the table, leisurely sipping her tea, when suddenly a scream rang in her ears: "The Lord is indeed so handsome."
Liu Lanyan's hand trembled, and she almost spilled the tea in her cup. She rolled her eyes at the ceiling helplessly: "Bingling, do you have to be so agitated?"
"Ahem, what I mean is that the Lord's strength is even greater than we guessed," Bing Ling coughed and said seriously.
“He was already a pervert.” Liu Lanyan sighed softly. “Bingling, I told you about this so you would feel this way.”
"Huh?" Bingling was slightly taken aback, then asked very seriously, "What are you going to do?"
Liu Lanyan's elbow slipped, and she almost fell face-first onto the table. Bingling isn't stupid, so why would she ask such a strange question?
"Go and find out what's going on in the Demon Realm." Fine, since Bingling can't figure it out, she'll just say it directly. Time is precious, and there's no need to beat around the bush with Bingling.
"Investigate the Demon Realm?" Bingling exclaimed in surprise. "Miss, didn't you say that we wouldn't get involved in the affairs of any realm?"
Even if what they are doing is none of the realms' business.
Miss has always maintained a policy of staying out of worldly affairs, so why would she break her own rules this time and investigate matters of the Demon Realm?
It wasn't that she couldn't think of it, but rather that she simply hadn't considered that possibility.
"It's definitely not easy for the people of the Demon Realm to touch him." Liu Lanyan said to herself, completely unaware that Bing Ling, who heard her words, opened her mouth wide in astonishment, looking utterly shocked.
"The Demon God has protected the Demon Realm for a long time, turning it into a paradise. It is rich in pure spiritual energy, while the Demon Realm is full of people obsessed with cultivation. The spiritual energy here is far from enough for them to cultivate."
"The Demon Realm, this sacred land, will naturally become a piece of fat meat in their eyes, and it is inevitable that they will want to seize it. To obtain the Demon Realm, they must first eliminate the Demon God. Therefore, this matter is definitely not accidental, and it is definitely not something that one or two people are planning."
Liu Lanyan became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it. She couldn't afford to waste a single moment, and her mind raced as she considered various matters.
"Get everyone you can out there and investigate. Find out everything clearly, the sooner the better."
Sensing Liu Lanyan's anxiety and seriousness, Bingling immediately replied, "Yes."
After thinking for a moment, Bingling asked curiously, "Miss, since the Lord is so powerful, it seems like there's nothing we can do to help him."
"Impressive?" Liu Lanyan asked in a strange tone.
“Of course it’s amazing,” Bingling said confidently. “Didn’t it defeat that mastermind behind the demon realm in one fell swoop?”
"Defeat?" Liu Lanyan asked with a smile, "Do you really think you've defeated them?"
"Isn't that right?" Bingling asked curiously. Wasn't that how Miss had described it to her just now? That person was knocked down in an instant.
"You forgot that message, at Hai Shi (9-11 PM)?" Liu Lanyan said calmly, but Bingling, who had known her for a long time, could still detect an unusual meaning in her calm voice.
"Wasn't that a rumor deliberately spread by the Demon God?" Bingling also began to get nervous. Had her mistress not explained it clearly to her earlier?
"I just explained what happened here to you, but I haven't analyzed the actual situation for you yet." Liu Lanyan chuckled lightly, using the laughter to ease her tension.
"Given the Demon God's temperament, would he let someone who offended him leave so easily?" Without a doubt, offending others, even the ruler of a realm, would at most result in death, but offending the Demon God would be worse than death.
"After he dispersed that person's power, he remained silent for a long time before making a second move."
Liu Lanyan's analysis puzzled Bingling: "Miss, perhaps the Lord is putting psychological pressure on that person. People like the Lord would do this."
People of high status often enjoy playing cat-and-mouse games. Since that person is no match for the Lord, it doesn't matter if the Lord plays around for a while.
"No," Liu Lanyan said firmly.
"Ah, why not?" Bingling was truly confused. It was normal for someone of the Venerable Lord's status to have such a reaction.
"Because that guy wanted to hurt me, and he would never allow anyone who wanted to hurt me to exist. If he had the ability, he would never have hesitated for so long before making his second move." Liu Lanyan said with great certainty, as if the Demon God had told her that.
Liu Lanyan's affirmation left Bingling speechless for a moment. After a moment of contemplation, she softly asked, "Miss... have you fallen for the Lord?"
Bingling's question made Liu Lanyan's cheeks flush red instantly, and she stammered in a low voice, "Don't talk nonsense, I'm talking to you about serious matters."
Bingling couldn't see what was happening here, so she naturally didn't know that Liu Lanyan's face was flushed red, almost to the point of bleeding.
Bingling chuckled and muttered, "What they're saying is serious business."
"So, no matter what, his body did have problems at Hai hour (9-11 PM)." Liu Lanyan abruptly changed the subject.
In fact, even if Bingling asked her why she was so sure, she wouldn't be able to answer.
All she knew was that her heart told her this was the answer.
If the Demon God had the ability, he would have instantly killed that person from the Demon Realm and would never have allowed that person to continue living.
Or rather, the demon goddess would never allow someone who dared to harm her to live.
As for where this idea and confidence came from, she herself did not understand; she simply believed it with unwavering conviction.
"And the second point of suspicion is that person's escape." Liu Lanyan moved on from that question and went straight to the next one.
"Didn't the Lord say that person used a secret technique from the Demon Realm? If we deal with him, it might hurt Miss." Bingling realized that the longer she spent with Miss, the less she could judge things by appearances. It was already a complex scheme; how could there be hidden meanings behind it all?
"This excuse is for that person to see, and there are other meanings behind it." Liu Lanyan finished her tea in one gulp and said slowly, "You should have realized by now that it's definitely not just one force that wants to deal with the Demon God and eliminate him."
"Yes." Bingling nodded; she understood that.
"I believe that other forces will also find out about tonight's actions. In their view, the last person's escape was a deliberate act by the Demon God to lure out the forces behind that person."
Liu Lanyan's words made perfect sense, and Bingling nodded repeatedly.
“Actually, there is another meaning to the Demon God’s actions.” Liu Lanyan continued, saying everything she could think of. “Perhaps some people think that the Demon God might really have something to do at Hai Shi (9-11 PM) and might want to attack.”
"Oh? Wouldn't the Lord be in great danger?" Bingling said nervously. "Miss, should we go over there?"
If the Lord is in danger, then their young lady is not safe either.
"No need, no one will attack," Liu Lanyan said confidently. Bingling was even more confused. How could this be?
"Didn't those people sense that something was off about the Lord at Hai Shi?" Bingling asked in confusion. Why didn't anyone attack when such a good opportunity presented itself?
"Hmph." Liu Lanyan chuckled lightly, raising an eyebrow. "That's what makes the Demon God so shrewd. Who among those who want to scheme against him is an ordinary person? They've even seen through such a flaw. Don't they suspect that it's a trap deliberately leaked by the Demon God?"
"I believe that Liu Xinya's faction is not the only one that knows about the trouble that will befall the Demon God at Hai Shi. Why are the others not making any moves? Because they cannot be sure of the veracity of the information. With Liu Xinya's crushing defeat this time, those people will become even more cautious."
“But isn’t the probability fifty-fifty?” Bingling thought for a moment and said, “It’s possible that the Lord deliberately set a trap, pretending that he is weak. Another possibility is that the Lord is really weak. If that’s the case, why hasn’t anyone come?”
“If we’re going to gamble, we have a 50% chance of winning. Since they’re so eager to get rid of the Lord, we should take the gamble.” Bingling voiced her thoughts, feeling that the Lord’s method was very risky.
Liu Lanyan laughed and asked Bingling, "Bingling, how many forces exactly want to get rid of the Demon God and deal with him?"
"Hmm, Miss, I haven't investigated yet. There must be quite a few. Please give me some time." Bingling pouted in dissatisfaction. She had only just been asked to investigate, and she hadn't even taken any action yet. How could she know how many forces were targeting the Lord?
"You know there are quite a few even without investigating? Do you think those people will unite to deal with the Demon God?" Liu Lanyan asked with a smile, not waiting for Bingling's answer, and continued, "They not only want to deal with the Demon God, but they are also afraid of becoming someone else's sacrifice."
"Whoever attacks the demon god first will suffer the most. Liu Xinya dares to attack them because they are the strongest."
“Those people are too shrewd; they would rather believe it than risk their lives.” Liu Lanyan smiled, pursing her lips. “They should also have found out that even at Hai hour (9-11 PM), the Demon God can still use such powerful energy. In that case, who would dare to come and die?”
"That's terrifying..." After a long silence, Bingling sighed.
"That's just how they think. They don't want to suffer any losses, and they all want to be absolutely certain of success." Liu Lanyan didn't care too much; that's just how those kinds of people think anyway.
Bingling weakly said, "Miss, they were saying you're scary."
"Huh?" Liu Lanyan almost choked on her own saliva, coughing twice before she recovered. She pointed at her nose in astonishment, "What's so scary about me?"
After pointing at herself, she realized that Bingling couldn't see her movements either, so she reluctantly lowered her hand.
"Miss saw right through everyone's thoughts. Isn't Miss terrifying?" Bingling muttered honestly.
Liu Lanyan laughed without getting annoyed. She simply said to Bingling, "Bingling, remember this: living in this world doesn't mean being as simple as paper. True simplicity is seeing through the world's troubles and scheming, yet still maintaining your true self."
"Understanding complexity allows you to maintain simplicity. Knowing complexity doesn't mean you have to be complex, because being too simple often means you can't even protect the people you care about most, and instead it can become a weapon that hurts your loved ones."
Liu Lanyan spoke softly, word by word, her tone neither heavy nor did it convey a sense of preaching; she simply spoke calmly, without any emotion.
"Miss..." Bingling called softly.
"Hmm?" Liu Lanyan responded.
"What happened to Miss before?" Bingling suddenly felt a pang of sadness, a sadness she didn't know why she felt.
Even though Liu Lanyan's tone was perfectly normal, she still felt an overwhelming sadness welling up from the depths of her heart, completely beyond her control.
That pervasive sorrow made her very uncomfortable.
"No, I'm just telling you. To live, you must be strong, but being strong doesn't mean you have to bully the weak. Everything in the world has two sides; whether you do good or evil is just a matter of a single thought. How you choose to live depends entirely on your own heart."
After Liu Lanyan finished speaking, she laughed first: "That was a bit long-winded."
"Yes, I understand." Bingling nodded heavily.
Liu Lanyan chuckled lightly, "Alright, don't think so much about it. I was just saying." How to handle such matters ultimately depends on the individual's wishes; what others say is irrelevant. "Go and find out quickly, and you can let me know anytime."
"Okay." Bingling replied quickly, and the two lost contact.
Liu Lanyan sighed softly, got up from the table, walked to the bedside, lay down, and after a long while, reached out a hand, grabbed the quilt, and wrapped herself tightly in it.
She was worried: what had happened to the demon god Hai Shi?
It's definitely not that simple.
That demon god is such a fool; something must have happened to him.
To keep her from finding out, he insisted on walking slowly back with her, just so she wouldn't suspect anything.
Since that was the case, she had no choice but to cooperate, and along the way, she investigated many obvious suspicious points.
She needed to find out the suspicious points so that the demon god wouldn't suspect she knew about his situation, and she also needed to get back as quickly as possible without leaving a trace, so that he could get back to his room to rest as soon as possible.
It really tests her acting skills. I wonder how he is now, and whether he has handled his own situation well?
On the other side, Peng Zhen gave all the instructions and quickly returned to the Demon God's bedroom.
"Your Excellency." Peng Zhen bowed respectfully, carefully observing the Demon God's condition, but found nothing unusual.
"Have you explained everything?" the demon god asked casually.
"Yes," Peng Zhen said respectfully.
The demon god nodded in satisfaction, then his expression changed, and he suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, which immediately soaked his snow-white clothes and splattered on the ground, blooming into bright red flowers on the hard floor.
The demon god, who had been full of energy and spirit just moments before, now had a pale face and seemed to have lost all his strength, slumping down.
"Lord!" Peng Zhen rushed over and helped the demon god up.
"I'm fine." The demon god began to speak, but his voice was weak and feeble, and he was nowhere to be seen the heroic demeanor he had just displayed.
In just a short while, he seemed like a completely different person.
Peng Zhen helped the demon god sit on the bed, propping up the pillows and blankets so that the demon god could lie diagonally on it.